Reunited Alexisonfire tease Reading crowd with talk about ‘the reasons for us being here’

Following the departure of two members, Canadian post-hardcore band Alexisonfire announced they were splitting up in 2011, only to pick things up again in March this year for a number of reunion shows including Main Stage performances at Reading and Leeds 2015.

In what seemed like an attempt to shed light on their reformation at their Saturday Reading show, frontman George Pettit told his fans; “there’s been a lot of speculation about the reasons for us being here…” He then stopped short of saying anything else, and instead tore through ‘We Are The Sound’ from third album ‘Crisis’. Having spent the duration of the set pulling his v-neck further down his shirt, he had finally ripped it off by the end of this song.

Otherwise, Pettit spoke freely throughout, introducing his band to the early evening crowd as follows: “For those of you who don’t know who we are, we’re from Canada. For those of you who do know who we are, push yourselves to the front – this one’s called ‘The Northern’. They then launched into the track off their fourth and final studio album ‘OId Crows/Young Cardinals’, in which vocalist and guitarist Dallas Green chimed in to provide an unexpected moment of honeyed a cappella soul as he repeated the phrase; “Hallelujah (we’ll praise the Lord).”

Jordan Hughes/NME

Another highlight included ‘Old Crows’’ title track, which saw Pettitt screaming “Everybody juuuump!” before delivering his emotionally charged lyrics with a sand-paper roar. At the show’s conclusion, Pettitt graciously thanked the crowd before sauntering off the stage and leaving those questions about a permanent reformation unanswered.